September 1 - 8, 2023

Below are weekly programs. You can find brief descriptions of these weekly programs on our website:

SUNDAY Morning Worship, 10 am in person and via Zoom

https://zoom.us/j/97010988439 Password: betogether

SUNDAY , 11:30 a.m. Bible Study in person and on Zoom

https://zoom.us/j/262314649

MONDAY - FRIDAY, 8 am Morning Devotion

https://zoom.us/j/94276813637

WEDNESDAY Eve., 6:30 pm Midweek Inhale Spiritual Practices

https://zoom.us/j/123020606

Below are the upcoming non-weekly events on the calendar happening at McFarland UCC for about the next month. All events are on the McFarland UCC calendar with Zoom links and additional information in the details/description area. Click the event on the McFarland UCC calendar to see the details.

Sunday, September 3, NO Teen Youth Monthly Meeting

Tuesday, September 5, 6:30 – 8:00 pm, Racial Justice Team Monthly Meeting (In person & Online)- Multipurpose Room

Saturday, September 9, 10:00 am, Love Has the Final Word Group Meeting (In person only)- Multipurpose Room

Thursday, September 14, 6:00 – 8:00 pm, SaLT Monthly Meeting (In person & Online) - Multipurpose Room

Sunday, September 17, 10:00 am, Outdoor Worship Service (In person & Online) Indoors if inclement weather.

Tuesday, September 19, 6:30 – 8:00 pm, Ecojustice/Green Team Monthly Meeting (In person & Online) - Multipurpose Room, Rescheduled from 8/15

Thursday, September 21, 6:30 – 8:00 pm, NION Monthly Meeting. In person and Online

Saturday, September 30, 10:00 am, Racial Justice Ministries trip to visit the Black Holocaust Museam in Milwaukee, followed by lunch at a black owned restaurant in Milwaukee. See article below.

MUCC Choir

Submitted by Tom Ludwig, Choir Director

The MUCC choir will resume rehearsals on Sunday, September 10. We rehearse every Sunday at 9:00 am, and we sing at about one worship service per month. We welcome back previous singers and always welcome new ones!  You do not need to have any experience or the ability to read music.  The only requirement is enthusiasm!  If you have any questions, please talk to me or email me at tludwig.rn@gmail.com.

Outreach LGBTQ+ Community Center’s food pantry

This pantry is in need of cleaning supplies. If you would like to help, please bring cleaners and supplies to church this Sunday (Sept. 3). There will be a basket in the sanctuary to put your donations in. Questions? Call Judy Taber at 608-215-4161.

Visit to America’s Black Holocaust Museum in Milwaukee

By Jayne Fischer

On Saturday, Sept. 30, take a tour of America’s Black Holocaust Museum (ABHM) in Milwaukee. Meet at 8:45 a.m. at the church parking lot to carpool to the museum (approximately 1 hour 15 minutes). After our guided tour, we’ll have lunch at a nearby black-owned restaurant. The cost is $10/person.

Dr. James Cameron, a lynching survivor and early civil rights pioneer, was inspired to create ABHM when he visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem in 1979. Cameron had faith in the moral framework of liberty and justice for all, embodied in our country's founding documents. He believed that when enough white Americans were exposed to an accurate account of the black American experience, they would oppose racial injustice and help the nation achieve its ideals.

America’s Black Holocaust Museum invites visitors to learn and grow together. The museum shares stories that advance visitors' understanding of our country’s troubled racial past, suggests strategies for acknowledging and repairing racial trauma, and helps our nation move into a more just and peaceful future. Join us for this interesting and informative tour!

Tcheki and Jeffrey’s Journey and Taste of Haiti

Last Sunday we were honored to hear about Tcheki, Jeffrey, and Jefferson’s incredibly challenging journey from Brazil to the U.S. that eventually brought them to McFarland in June. Marc Laroque assisted with interpretation as Tcheki and Jeffrey shared the challenges they faced as they traveled by foot, boat, and bus through Columbia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvado, Guatemala and across Mexico. They also shared some videos from their journey, including walking through the Darien Gap, a 66-mile stretch of mountainous rainforest jungle and vast swamp land. The Darien Gap is one of the most dangerous migration routes and can take up to 10 days to cross from Colombia into Panama. Tcheki and Jeffrey walked 12 hours a day through the jungle.

Tcheki and Jeffrey wanted to give back to the church for our support since they arrived at Dane County Airport June 17 with all their possessions in one suitcase. As part of their thank you they planned and prepared “A Taste of Haiti” for all of us to enjoy. Tcheki and Jeffrey planned a menu of special Haitian food (i.e., food served during special occasions) using food purchased from Woodmans where, during prior shopping trips, they discovered many of the Haitian foods they enjoy and had been missing. Last Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, the kitchen was filled with activity as several volunteers assisted with food preparation under Tcheki’s direction: “don’t overcook the vegetables”, “cut it this size, no, too big, no, too small, that’s just right”. While all the slicing, chopping, and mixing was a bit of work, there was a lot of love and laughter going into the food. Having volunteers to watch over Jefferson during food prep was also appreciated.



For those of us who have been assisting Tcheki and Jeffrey since mid-June, it has truly been a privilege to be part of their ongoing journey.

A Few Words From Pastor Bryan...

Recently, more than a few people have told me that they have "trust issues." They've been burned, betrayed, heartbroken, let down, lied to, left behind, left alone, left vulnerable and exposed, or been just plain disappointed too many times. They tell me it's just easier not to trust, not to get their hopes up, take care of themselves, and to pretty much make sure they don't allow themselves to count on anyone or anything. Including God. Often especially God.

So I've been thinking about this. And you know what I think?

I think it's actually harder NOT to trust God.

Of course if you're not sure you believe in God or not then you're not going to be able to trust God much if at all. Even then I'd suggest you try to trusting as if you knew for certain that God is real and that God is Love Itself. You know-- "fake it 'til you make it." But I'm talking here primarily to those of us who DO believe in God and who are drawn to the teachings of Jesus and to the God of Jesus.

After a lot of years (I've been consciously and rather passionately seeking God for 47 years now) of trying to follow Jesus, it's all gotten very simple for me. Oh I could dive into the quagmire of complexities regarding just how God "works" and how prayer works and what's mine to do and not do when it comes to any number of issues like financial security or my own personal happiness. You know me. I swim in those questions and nuances all the time.

But it really all comes down to this. I'm choosing--and it's always a choice--to simply seek God first--in my own imperfect and flawed but sincere and grace-filled way--and to trust that no matter what does or doesn't happen, I'll be in and with God. Which means I'll be held in the loving embrace of the Creator of the Universe. Which means everything will ultimately be okay. In fact more than okay. Everything is leading to a beautiful, Love- centered culmination, either here on earth or on the other side of the Mystery.

So if things aren't going my way, or I mess up and go on a painful shame spiral, or my ego takes a beating because someone is unfair or cruel to me, or if some worst-case scenario unfolds for me and/or those I love most (and God please don't get any Job-like test ideas here!), then I'm going to trust that God will be with me and--as I've asked you to "repeat after me" several times in sermons--I'm going to trust that "God will give me whatever I need, to face whatever I've got to face."

Maybe you're thinking, well I can't do that. Or for some reason you're afraid to. Well not to sound obnoxious, but, if you want to, and you keep wanting to, then I personally have no doubt that God will give you that gift of trust. Just keep asking for it and be truly open to it. And choose it whenever you know the choice is yours.

So all of this is why I say I think it's easier to trust God than not to. You have no idea how much peace I'm feeling right now as I write these words to you. Oh I've got lots going on, like many of you, and I could get anxious and stressed about a number of things. But the simple truth is that I'm not worried about a darn thing. Why? Because I'm trusting God with all of it and with all of me. And yes, I'm human. I lose this "blessed assurance" sometimes. But not for very long anymore, because as I said, trusting God is a choice, and I'm choosing trust. And I'll work hard to do my part always, but this takes all the pressure off.

I think maybe this is what Jesus meant in that verse I preached from last Sunday. He said, in Matthew 11,

"Come to me, all you who are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. For my burden is light and my yoke is easy."

Yeah. It's way easier to trust God than not to, and for that I'm so deeply grateful.

Hope to see you Sunday,

Pastor B